Fake child seats "death traps" warning

A Berkshire-based laboratory has released dramatic footage showing the damage a counterfeit car seat can do to a child. The Transport Research Laboratory in Wokingham say an increasing number of counterfeit child car seats are being sold to unsuspecting parents in the UK.

Crash-testing by TRL has shown that counterfeit seats are often of very poor quality and offer children little protection in a crash.

“It is very difficult to recognise these counterfeits, because on initial inspection they can look very similar to the genuine items,” says TRL's Hamish McPhillips.

“A recent crash test performed by TRL on what was suspected to be a counterfeit product resulted in the seat coming apart. While the seat appeared to have appropriate safety ratings, the instruction manual was in poorly written English, a clear marker that it is counterfeit."